Dickie Dunn wrote:It definitely doesn't make Pitt better next season, but I fail to see how this looks terrible or is disasterous from a recruiting standpoint.

Prospective recruit asks Chryst about the Shell transfer, "He wasn't my recruit, he was promised things by the prior coaching staff that I didn't agree with, he didn't want to put in the work to earn his playing time, and that ultimately prevented him from being the type of young man that we see as "Pitt material", but you are that type of young man, so here's what we see in your future if you decide to become a Pitt Panther..."

Boom, over. I highly doubt this is an issue for the majority of prospective recruits. Players transfer all the time. If recruits were worried about why someone was transferring out of a program, no one would commit anywhere. Results on the field are what matter most when luring big time recruits. Shell is about to disappear like a fart in the wind and likely will end up buried on some other program's depth chart. If this has any affect on recruiting, hopefully it gets Shai McKenzie's mouth watering about playing time as a freshman.

Trashing prior players who transferred isn't what I'd want to hear from a coach.

That's a far cry from trashing. Saying he was a lazy POS who didn't feel like practicing, milked injuries to get out of training, and was a cancerous malcontent and the program is better off without him, that's trashing a former player. My example was explaining the situation while highlighting what the coaching staff expects from its players. "He didn't want to do this stuff, but we know that you can." You deflect the question while pumping up the attributes of the recruit you're talking to.

To me, telling a recruit that some other player "didn't want to work hard" or that he "wasn't the kind of young man that is Pitt material" sounds like trashing. The later is also sanctimonious BS, but that's just me. I'm sure such a tact might work with some recruits, but not others. Have to know your audience, I guess.

slappybrown wrote:Additionally, while maybe Chryst can minimize his leaving, other coaches will use it as evidence that Pitt isn't where you want to be if you're a top recruit, etc. DAMN YOU HOLGO

What exactly are they going to say? "Don't go to Pitt, they'll make you work for your playing time, but I'll guarantee you that you'll be 2nd on the depth chart this season." If that sways a recruit, he's not someone that Chryst wants anyway.

slappybrown wrote:Additionally, while maybe Chryst can minimize his leaving, other coaches will use it as evidence that Pitt isn't where you want to be if you're a top recruit, etc. DAMN YOU HOLGO

What exactly are they going to say? "Don't go to Pitt, they'll make you work for your playing time, but I'll guarantee you that you'll be 2nd on the depth chart this season." If that sways a recruit, he's not someone that Chryst wants anyway.

Come on Dickie, surely you can see how a coach could use this against Pitt in recruiting.

"Pitt isn't in our class. They recruit 5-star players like yourself, and they wind up leaving. We want the best players to succeed here; Rushel Shell grew up there and even he left." - Dana Holgerson, next spring.

slappybrown wrote:Additionally, while maybe Chryst can minimize his leaving, other coaches will use it as evidence that Pitt isn't where you want to be if you're a top recruit, etc. DAMN YOU HOLGO

What exactly are they going to say? "Don't go to Pitt, they'll make you work for your playing time, but I'll guarantee you that you'll be 2nd on the depth chart this season." If that sways a recruit, he's not someone that Chryst wants anyway.

Come on Dickie, surely you can see how a coach could use this against Pitt in recruiting.

"Pitt isn't in our class. They recruit 5-star players like yourself, and they wind up leaving. We want the best players to succeed here; Rushel Shell grew up there and even he left." - Dana Holgerson, next spring.

That's definitely a possibility. I'm not denying that the situation is going to force the coaching staff to perform damage control with some recruits, I just believe that they will be able to downplay it. Ultimately, performance on the field is what will matter most and a successful season would go a long way to help minimize any negative recruiting impact.

newarenanow wrote:Supposedly over the next few days there will be other transfers out of Pitt. Shell isn't the only one.

A lot of people seem to think Rippy is leaving too. That doesn't surprise me, as he was a highly touted recruit that can't even crack the two-deep. Shell does surprise me though since he is getting the playing time and is close to home and his family.

newarenanow wrote:Supposedly over the next few days there will be other transfers out of Pitt. Shell isn't the only one.

Saw something from either Dokish or Peak on Twitter that they have like 89 players and need to get down to 85, so there definitely will be departures out.

DT Terrell Jackson requested and received his transfer request yesterday as well. Not sure if the numbers above were put together before or after he was out of the equation.

Rippy may be the next to go. Highly-rated LB, but there were concerns with him about character and work ethic as well. As talented as the kid may be, if those are legitimate questions with Rippy, adios.

I'm not a paying member of PantherLair's site, but from what I could gather, it sounds like there were some issues Shell had within the program and also personal issues. Whether those are just with him or something at home, I'm not sure...none of my business.

The team issued a statement today saying that they're working with him to help him through his issues. He has not formally requested a transfer or release from his scholarship, but has been granted some time away from the program to work things out, with the school helping him along the way.

I'm certainly not going to bury the kid if he leaves. It happens, and if he has what to him are legitimate reasons why he feels he wants to go, then fine. It sucks because it could've been a nice story to watch as a fan, but that's about it as far as I need to be concerned.

If he goes, they'll still have Bennett and Crockett coming back, both of whom seem capable. They moved one of the David twins to RB in kind of a Larod-Stephens Howling role. True freshman James Connor was said to be getting some looks at RB as well. Another member of the 2013 class - Rachid Ibrahim - was recruited as a safety but also played RB in high school, so maybe they move him there for depth.

And as it was mentioned above, whatever happens here may bolster their chances to lock Shai McKenzie in as a recruit.

I would say that most college players transfer for these reasons (in no particular order)...

1. To be closer to home2. To get more playing time3. Because their style of play does not mesh with their school's system

Obviously, none of these apply to Shell, which makes his decision a head-scratcher. Folks on pantherlair have claimed the following...

1. He came into spring practice out of shape, the Pitt coaches and his teammates called him out on it, and he didn't like that2. He has some baby momma drama going on and wants to get away from that3. He failed another drug test (which is why he was suspended for the YSU game), and instead of taking a redshirt at Pitt during his suspension, he would rather have that suspension "swept" under the rug by going to another school. Plus, if he goes to the Pac-12 as many are speculating, the ganga is legal in many of those states (I have seen several claims that he has an issue with that).

Honestly, I think it's probably a combination of all 3, and instead of dealing with these challenges head on, he is running from them. Hopefully he gets his act together, but it sounds like he has a lot of maturity issues right now.

An interesting point I read was that Pitt fans who think the sky is falling because they lost Shell are the same people who say running backs are a dime a dozen in the NFL. Sure, he is probably the best RB on Pitt's roster, but Bennett and Crocket are talented enough to be productive behind a much improved O-Line. Plus, Bennett ran a faster 100 meter dash than Robert Foster did, and he was the Texas state champion in the long jump when he was in high school (in other words, the kid is tremendously athletic). Shell leaving does hurt the depth at RB, and it may cause incoming freshman James Conner to move to RB (Pitt recruited him as a defensive lineman). With the frame that Conner has (6'2 232) Id rather see him develop into a rush end than carry the ball, but he could be a bruising running back. That, in my opinion, is the biggest consequence of the Shell transfer, as Pitt needs guys like Conner to get after the QB.